1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a processing method, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for regenerating an activated coke used for treating industrial wastewater or sewage.
2. The Prior Arts
In the modern environment-protection industry, there are many approaches proposed for treating the industrial wastewater or sewage. For example, an invention has been made to employ an activated coke filtering and adsorbing material having an Iodine adsorption value in a range of 400-800 mg/g in treating the industrial wastewater and sewage. The activated coke can be prepared by taking anthracite coal, lean coal, meagre coal, coking coal, rich coal, gas coal, long flame coal, brown coal, blue carbon, hard coke, or semi-coke as raw material and sequentially conducting drying, dry distillation, carbonization, and activation processes with the selected raw material. After using the activated coke to treat the industrial wastewater or sewage, it is desired to regenerate the used activated coke for recycling purpose. Generally, the cost of regenerating the used activated coke is pretty high and often takes a large percentage in the total cost of treating the industrial wastewater or sewage. As such, whether the treatment technology of employing the activated coke should be applied is often determined by whether the cost of regenerating the used activated coke can be reduced or not.
Generally, conventional equipment used for regenerating water-treatment filtering and adsorbing materials, such as vertical furnace or rake furnace is often very expansive. When such equipment is in operation, the generated flame and smoke remains in direct contact with the material, such that some of the material is consumed by combustion, or lost when exhausting the smoke. As such, the recycling rate of regenerating the water-treatment filtering and adsorbing material is typically low. Further, there is a large amount of steam contained in a gas mixture which is generated when regenerating the water-treatment filtering and adsorbing material, and the steam portions adversely affects the combustion of the gas mixture. Accordingly, the gas mixture cannot be recycled and has to be directly discharged in the atmosphere. This operation inevitably causes pollution and destroys the environment, and even wastes energy.
Moreover, almost all conventional equipment is adapted for continuous operation. However, sometime the activated coke is desired to be used in treating the wastewater discharged from a small or medium scale factory or a small county, in which the quantity of wastewater to be treated is relatively small. Therefore, only a small amount of activated coke needs to be recycled for reuse, so that the conventional equipment is not supposed to be continuously operated under that condition.
Therefore, it is desired to provide a method and an apparatus for regenerating the activated coke for the wastewater or sewage. In the process of regenerating the activated coke, the processed material is kept separated from the flame and smoke, so that the processed material won't be consumed in combustion or lost by exhaustion of smoke, thus improving the recycling rate of the activated coke. Further, the apparatus is desired to be capable of either continuously or intermittently operated, thus saving the cost of regenerating the activated coke, as well as the total cost of treating the wastewater or sewage. Furthermore, a portable apparatus which can be conveniently carried and transported is also desired for handling water pollution in emergency.